Live Blog: Detroit Lions vs. St. Louis Rams

AP File PhotoFord Field is sold out for the Lions preseason opener against the Browns.

4:16 -- Avril sack and it's over. Thanks for playing folks!

4:14 -- Rams complete a 19-yard play, squeeze in a timeout with two seconds left. 61 yards to go, I don't think Bradford has that kind of arm strength.

4:11 -- Stafford finds Kevin Smith while being hit for the score. Lions take the four-point lead with 10 seconds left. Wild finish.

4:11 -- Lions have two shots from the five-yard line with :15 to go.

4:07 -- 20-yard passes to Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson and a pair of short throws to Tony Scheffler and Kevin Smith have the Lions in field goal range with 35 seconds remaining. It should be interesting to see how aggressive Detroit is here in the final half minute.

4:04 -- Lions defense finally clamps down, but Rams kick a 46-yard field goal to take the lead. Which Lions offense will we see in the two-minute drill?

3:58 -- The Rams are driving, now in field goal range, but the linebackers are doing their job, completely shutting down Steven Jackson on first and second down. The Lions banged up secondary is laboring right now though.

3:48 -- There's that Lions offense people have been waiting to see all day. Brandon Pettigrew was a man on a mission, catching three passes on the drive for a total of 62 yards. Kevin Smith did the rest of the work, carrying twice for 18 yards, including a five-yard touchdown. We're knotted up at 20 with a little more than seven minutes to go.

3:41 -- Rams offensive tackle Rodger Saffold has been down since the last play. He just collapsed after the touchdown. He's being strapped to a board and carted off the field. Scary.

Updated: He's breathing as he leaves the field.

3:35 -- Jonte Green comes in for an injured Bill Bentley and immediately gets burned twice including on a 23-yard touchdown.

The injury report is Bentley was "shaken up." No idea what the heck that's supposed to mean.

3:29 -- Another drop and two more bad throws by Stafford and the Lions are punting again. St. Louis is starting inside Detroit territory. Defense will need to keep carrying the Lions.

3:26 -- Lions were holding an edge in field position, but a great punt, and a holding call against Jonte Green on the return, buries Detroit deep in their own zone on their first fourth-quarter drive.

3:18 -- Outside of the Stafford completion to himself, this is quickly developing into a sloppy offense, punters battle. Looks like we'll head into the fourth quarter tied at 13.

3:15 -- A quick break in the analysis here because Matthew Stafford just caught a pass from himself. Pass was obviously deflected at the line.

3:05 -- Well, Lions quickly go three-and-out, wasting a nice eight-yard run by Kevin Smith on first down. Stafford missed Nate Burleson on third down forcing the punt.

Buffalo begins their drive at their own 13 after a pretty strong punt by Ben Graham.

3:01 -- Another three-and-out, aided by a holding call on Rokevious Watkins. Logan with another solid return, giving Detroit good field position again. Lions will start the drive at their own 45.

Logan is averaging 16 yards per punt return. He's been a huge factor in this game.

2:51 -- Lions tie it up with a field goal. The drive essentially stalled after Stafford was sacked.

On the injury front, St. Louis starting center Scott Wells has a foot injury and his return is questionable.

2:43 -- Suh might be back folks. 12-yard sack on third down completes the three-and-out. Logan gets another good punt return to put the Lions at the Rams 41 to start their first drive of the second half.

2:40 -- Second half is underway.

2:25 -- A relevant stat dug up by colleague John Kreger... this is the sixth time Stafford has thrown three or more interceptions in a game. The Lions are 0-5 in those games.

It's halftime and the Lions are down 13-10. It will be Rams' ball to start the third quarter.

2:21 -- Lions get a few points back before the end of the half on a 41-yard Jason Hanson field goal. The big play on the drive was a 51-yard completion to Calvin Johnson, but the drive quickly stalled there. The Lions almost had a touchdown, but tight end Brandon Pettigrew was unable to corral a high and wide pass from Stafford down the seam.

On the final play of the drive, Stafford scrambled to avoid pressure, but instead of taking the massive running lane, he threw a pass that was nearly his fourth interception of the day.

2:12 -- Stafford is having one of the worst days of his career. He just tossed his third interception of the half, which was returned for a touchdown by Cortland Finnegan.

To make matters worse, Titus Young decided to deliver a head butt to a Rams player (Janoris Jenkins) after the play. Personal fouls never go out of style with this team.

2:03 -- The Detroit defense bends, but doesn't break, holding the Rams to another field goal. On 3rd-and-5 from the six-yard line, Lions coverage was good allowing Nick Fairley to get the team's first sack of the game.

1:56 -- Stafford with another interception. Linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar made a great read and break on the ball, jumping in front of an out route intended for Pettigrew. A long return puts St. Louis at the Detroit 44 to start its drive.

1:51 -- Lions force a three-and-out after a great defensive play and a little bit of luck.

On second down, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was able to grab and bring down Steven Jackson in the backfield with one hand. Unbelievable strength displayed by Suh.

On the next play, Rams wide receiver Steve Smith got wide open deep, but Bradford left it hanging in the air far too long, allowing cornerback Drayton Florence time to recover and knock it away.

After a horse collar tackle on the return, Lions are starting at the Rams 32.

1:44 -- Another long drive for the Lions, but this one ends with a touchdown, a one-yard plunge by Joique Bell. It was his first carry of the game. Nope, scratch that, first CAREER carry. Very cool moment for a local guy. Lions are up 7-3.

1:27 -- Up-and-down drive to the Lions. You have to like what you see early with the run defense. Durant and Sammie Hill were especially strong. The Rams were able to find some soft spots in the Lions' zone coverage to move the chains before the drive stalled. A 48-yard goal makes it 3-0 St. Louis.

1:20 -- Justin Durant looking fired up for this one tonight, filling up his gap for big stops on Steven Jackson on the Rams first two plays.

1:17 -- Janoris Jenkins makes a big impact, picking off a Stafford pass intended for Tony Scheffler. Stafford just didn't get enough air under the pass, allowing Jenkins to easily step in front of it. Lions are lucky he didn't take it back for a score. Rams will start at their own 34-yard line.

1:13 -- Lions are driving with a very spread out attack. Five different receivers and three different ball carriers already.

1:05 -- Moment of silence for Art Modell today. Lions will get the ball. 1:01 -- Lions unofficial cheerleaders, the Detroit Pride, are in the building (in uniform) today.

12:57 -- Last banner is for the 2011 playoff appearance. I'd say act like you've been there before, but hey, it had been 12 years.

12:50 -- Lot of Lions legends being introduced on the field prior to the game including Herman Moore, Charlie Sanders, Joe Schmidt and Lem Barney.

12:44 -- The three banners are being explained. One for championships, one for division titles and one for playoff appearances. Not a big fan of the last one.

11:50 -- The Detroit Lions open the regular season at home against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Join MLive.com starting at 1 p.m. for live analysis and conversation via the comments.

The Lions are looking to build off a 10-6 campaign and the team's first playoff appearance in 12 years. The Rams are coming off a rough season, finishing 2-14 in 2011.

St. Louis welcomes more than 30 new players to its roster this season and an entirely new coaching staff headed by former longtime Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher.

Be sure to check out Sunday's inactives, posted by Anwar Richardson. As expected, both Louis Delmas and Chris Houston will sit this game out with injury. Starting at cornerback in place of Houston will be Jacob Lacey.